High Quality
Open the downloaded document, and select print from the file menu (PDF reader required).
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
REGIONAL OFFICE FOR THE WESTERN PACIFIC
Press Release
Press Release FAO/WHO4 March 2003
WHO/FAO RELEASE INDEPENDENT EXPERT REPORTON DIET AND CHRONIC DISEASE
Less saturated fats, sugar and salt, more fruit and vegetables and physical exercise, neededto counter cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes and obesity
Geneva/Rome
– A diet low in energy-dense foods that are high in saturated fats and sugars, andabundant in fruit and vegetables, together with an active lifestyle are among the key measures tocombat chronic disease recommended in an independent Expert Report prepared for two UNagencies.The report, commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and AgricultureOrganization (FAO), from a team of global experts, aims to identify new recommendations for governments on diet and exercise to tackle the ever increasing number of people who die each year from chronic diseases. The burden of chronic diseases – which include cardiovascular diseases,cancers, diabetes and obesity – is rapidly increasing worldwide. In 2001, chronic diseases contributedapproximately 59% of the 56.5 million total reported deaths in the world and 46%of the global burdenof disease. “This Expert Report is highly significant because it contains the best currently available scientificevidence on the relationship of diet, nutrition and physical activity to chronic diseases, based on thecollective judgement of a group of experts with a global perspective,” said Dr Ricardo Uauy, Head of the University of Chile’s Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology, and Professor of Public Health Nutrition at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, who chaired the Expert Group.The Report includes advice on ways of changing daily nutritional intake and increasing energyexpenditure by:
•
reducing energy-rich foods high in saturated fat and sugar;
•
cutting the amount of salt in the diet;
•
increasing the amount of fresh fruit and vegetables in the diet.
•
undertaking moderate-intensity physical activity for at least an hour a day.
The Report, based on the analysis of the best available current evidence and the collective judgementof 30 experts, emphasizes that energy consumed each day should match energy expenditure.Evidence suggests that excessive consumption of energy-rich foods can encourage weight gain, thereport says and calls for a limit in the consumption of saturated and trans fats, sugars and salt in thediet, noting they are often found in snacks, processed foods and drinks.The quality of fats and oils in a diet, as well as the amount of salt consumed, the report says, can alsohave an influence on cardiovascular diseases such as strokes and heart attacks.
The Expert Report is released as WHO prepares a Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity andHealth following a May 2002 World Health Assembly resolution from its Member States.The Expert Report will be formally published in April as a WHO/FAO technical report together withan evaluation by the Organizations and outlines of actions to implement the recommendations. TheReport will be a critical science-based contribution to the development of the Global Strategy, aimedat reducing the growing burden of disease related to cardiovascular diseases, several forms of cancer,diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis and dental disease.FAO supports WHO in developing its Global Strategy. As a follow-up to the Report’s findings, FAOwill undertake work on identifying information needs and monitoring diets, and on assessing theimplications of the Report’s recommendations for all aspects of the food chain as well as for agricultural and trade policies.The report will form the basis for national and regional bodies to develop specific guidelines on dietand exercise for their local communities. “The report provides goals for dietary components and physical activity levels consistent with goodhealth and the prevention of the major nutrition related chronic diseases, coronary heart disease andhypertension, cancer, diabetes, obesity, osteoporotic fractures, and dental diseases,” Uauy said.
Urbanization and the rise of chronic diseases
Many of the deaths attributed to chronic diseases are due to risk factors that could easily be preventedsuch as:
•
high blood pressure;
•
high cholesterol levels;
•
obesity;
•
low levels of physical activity. More and more people in the developing world are suffering from chronic disease, a seismic shiftfrom a few decades ago when chronic disease was associated with the rich, developed world.Increased urbanization – as rural people abandon their land and move towards the cities -- plays alarge part in this change, according to the report.City-dwellers are more likely to consume energy-dense diets – high in saturated fat and in refinedcarbohydrates. This sudden change in diet, combined with a sedentary lifestyle, is having a drasticeffect on the urban poor. “Not all fats or all carbohydrates are the same; it pays to know the difference,” said Dr Uauy, adding,“People should eat less high-calorie foods, especially foods high in saturated fat and sugar, be physicallyactive, prefer unsaturated for saturated fat and use less salt; enjoy fruits, vegetables and legumes and prefer foods of plant and marine origin..” A diet rich in fruit and vegetables containing immune-system boosting micronutrients could also help the body’s natural defences against infectious diseases, Uauy said.
The Expert Report’s specific recommendations on diet include limiting fat to between 15 and 30 percent of total daily energy intake and saturated fats to less than 10 percent of this total.Carbohydrates, the report suggests, should provide the bulk of energy requirements – between 55 and75 percent of daily intake and free sugars should remain beneath 10 percent. Protein should make up afurther 10-15 percent of calorie intake and salt should be restricted to less than 5 grams a day. Intakeof fruit and vegetables should be plumped up to reach at least 400 grams a day.
Add a Comment